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Bluewater Adventures: When conservation is second natur

June 26, 2008

Randy Burke, who has helmed North Vancouver’s Bluewater Adventures since 1988, is thrilled that the youthful green spirit of the 1970s has come storming back in recent times. The green wash he sees swelling around his adventure sailing business is a rising tide of responsible travelers who value the environmental record and ethics of the companies with which they spend their money.

According to Burke, in today’s outdoor adventure market, companies that aren’t green are the ones falling behind. And commitment has to be more than skin deep. For that reason, Bluewater Adventures just completed a corporate review by Ecotrust Canada and the Pembina Institute to help it become carbon-neutral.

While that alone may not solve all of the planet’s environmental woes, Burke maintains it at least will demonstrate that his company is on the proactive side of the global-warming ledger.

From the outset, Bluewater Adventures believed it was one thing to sail, but another tack entirely to sail with researchers and local guides to expand a visitor’s sense of place. For Burke, that place means B.C.’s Central Coast and Queen Charlotte Islands, where the company forged relationships with first the Haida in the late 1980s and more recently with the Gitga’at and Kitasoo First Nations.

In this way, a sailing trip becomes a voyage of exploration of the living history of the coast. There’s nothing like an authentic voice to deepen a travel experience.

Excerpt from Seattle Post-Intelligencer article, June 25, 2008. For full article, click here.